Tiny Hamster YouTube Stars Adding 'Author' to Their Tiny Resumes

— -- It’s been a popular year for hamsters, particularly very tiny, very hungry ones. The breakout YouTube stars have racked up more than 21 million video views eating tiny burritos, tiny pizza, tiny spaghetti and more, and as of today, they’re adding ‘authors’ to their resume.

The brainchild of content company Hello Denizen’s Joel Jensen, Joseph Matsushima and Amy Matsushima, tiny hamster videos exist at the intersection of people loving animals, food and miniature things. Their first video of tiny hamsters eating tiny burritos quickly went viral.

“That blew up within hours after we went live with it. It was really surprising,” Jensen told ABC News.

Hello Denizen created the video after they pitched it as a concept to a frozen burrito company, who turned it down. They loved the idea so much, though, that they decided to produce it on their own for fun. Now, this tiny little side project has turned into much more.

“It basically has taken over a great deal of our thought and energy,” Jensen said. “It’s a little overwhelming sometimes.”

Each video takes at least two weeks of planning, from idea conception and script writing to training the hamsters and making the animal-safe meals before actually shooting the videos.

“In the case of the giant monster video, we shot that over two days, so a full 12-hour day and a six-hour day after that to pick up some things we weren’t quite happy with, like the helicopters,” Jensen explained. “They can be a little bit painstaking.”

The work pays off, though, as the videos are now getting sponsors and have led to a book deal with Simon & Schuster, as well as brought in new clients to Hello Denizen. Out today, “Tiny Hamster is a Giant Monster” is a children’s book intended to help parents connect with their children. The tiny hamster accidentally eats some mad scientist goo, turns into a Godzilla-like hamster and destroys a city, (adorably) eating everything in sight.

“We’re really pleased with how the book has turned out,” Jensen said. “We got to be more ambitious with the story and the production itself with Simon & Schuster’s support.”

Check out the full companion video below, and expect more tiny hamster videos to come.